Thread: BIT OV BOTHER..

Originally Posted by grandpamac

Greetings Doinit,
An important piece of information would be the chronographed velocity. This would give you more information than 24 hours of gazing at primers. 26 grains of BM2 is a bit over max listed at 25.6 grains for the 55 grain projectile. You don't give the type of projectile and I assume they are lead jacketed type. If your velocity for the 25.5 grain load was around 3,250 fps in a 24 inch barrel then the pressure would be similar to the 50,000 CUP of the Hodgdon/ ADI load. In my experience .223 primers tend towards cratering but neither of my .223 rifles show the level of cratering as on your loads. Mine are primed with Federal 205 primers and loaded equivalent to yours. I have read that CCI 450 primers are much harder in the cup than their standard ones and have been used to get over cratering problems. A packet of 100 450 primers would tell you if it is just the primers or if you have a rifle problem. In my opinion gazing at primers is like gazing at the entrails of a chicken. you can tell that the cartridge has been fired and that chicken is dead but not much more. A chronograph would be more help.
All the best and Regards Grandpamac.

Gidday there Grandpamac...The barrel length on the rifle I use is 17 inches, bullet is a Sierra 55grn SP.
The load data I'm playing with is from Nick Harvey's Practical Reloading Manual.
For a 55grn pill he's saying start with 24grns of BM2 MV 3115.
Max with BM2 is 26grns.......MV 3300.
These MV's he's stating for those two loads are out of a 24inch bull barrel.
I'll give my loads the speed test some time just for giggles....
Cheers